ESOCS Devotional 14 July 2023
MEMORY VERSE: “And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shall thou do six days. And seven Priests shall bear before the Ark seven trumpets of ram’s horns…” Joshua 6:3-4
TEXT: JOSHUA 5:13-END; 6:1-11 (KJV)
JOSHUA 5:13-END
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?
15 And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
JOSHUA 6:1-11
Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
2 And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.
3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.
4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.
5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.
6 And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.
7 And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the Lord.
8 And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the Lord, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them.
9 And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.
10 And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.
11 So the ark of the Lord compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
Every successful breakthrough ever experienced in life came at the frequency of instruction properly obeyed, whereas for all the devastating disasters the world have ever witnessed happened on the platform of disobedience to instructions. It is adherence to instructions that makes a man instrumental in his generation. You become an instrumentality to be reckoned with when you keep instructions. Without doubt, it is the secret of every successful learner.
The city of Jericho had been handed over to Joshua by God; though the people decided to straightly build the walls preventing movement of citizens in and out of the city.
Interestingly, the city of Jericho, her kings and all men of valour were handed over to Joshua but with instructions:
All men of war should march with instructions; Seven Priests to bear before the Ark seven trumpets of ram’s horns; March round the city seven times on the seventh day; The Priests to blow the trumpets at the seventh time of the march; and the people should shout a great shout at the sound of the trumpets. One would ask, what are the necessities of these instructions?
- It makes task simpler: when instructions are on ground, people find things easier, task are simplified. Instruction is the answer to difficulty in assignment execution as it provides the lead way, direction and methodology, it eliminates stress and trial and error syndrome.
- Effectiveness of Operation: Instructions promote operational effectiveness and efficiency. It is the bedrock of excellence and proficiency. Those who follow instructions display high level of cooperation, intelligence and dependability. Failure to follow instruction is a mark of independence and suspicion on the instructor.
- Elimination of Confusion: Instruction is the escape route for confusion. Where there are no instructions, confusion is eminent. In order to avoid chaos and great frustration, then instruction is the key. For the Israelites there was no trace of confusion as the instructions were clear.
- Time and Risk Management: Nothing saves time like instruction. You avoid the stress of starting all over again as there is every certain that when instructions are not followed failure is eminent, time wasted, manpower wasted and people are put on high risk.
Every instruction from God is for our good, obey them and be sure to have a safe landing.
- Constantly position yourself to possess all that God has given to you.
- Father, we ask for grace to always obey your instructions in Jesus Name, Amen.
FURTHER READING: Daniel 6:1-15; Luke 5:12-26; Acts 17:1-15
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ESOCS Devotional 14 July 2023
